C
atholic
Herald
DIOCESE OF SUPERIOR
www.superiorcatholicherald.org Vol 152/Edition 8, 12 Pages May 12, 2022
JENNY SNARSKI
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF JSNARSKI@CATHOLICDOS.ORG
I
n the presence of Bishop James P. Powers and other diocesan leaders, Chris Hurtubise opened the first of two regional Synod on Syno- dality sessions at St. Joseph Church in Shell Lake on March 13. Hurtubise, director of the newestdiocesanice,the iceofEvangelizationand Missionary Discipleship, shared how the context of the departments creation - fruit of very deep soul-searching conversations during the initial stages of the pandemic - was merely part of a bigger picture the Holy Spirit was working on. This local momentum, Hur- tubise explained, providentially it in and was animated by the worldwide Synod on Synodality that Pope Francis has called for and the Vatican has mobilized dioceses to join. While the bish- ops of the world wont meet until October 2023, the local process- es started in 2021 to allow for input from all Catholics. Evangelization is not an academic thing, Hurtubise said. All good ministry is relational ministry. He said that if utilized well, this first-of-its-kind synodal process could be a gift to the diocese's evangelization initia- tive: The Holy Father is giving us a moment to stop, to step out of our silos and see each other as real people, to come together as people who deeply care about the church's mission. Regional sessions were attended by delegates who were reporting on the findings from listening sessions held in parish- es this winter. Both gatherings followed the same schedule, with Lectio Divina and small group discussions, as the parish sessions. Mentioning the power of prayer and the Scripture, Hur- tubiseirmedtheentiresynod- al process has to be bookended by serious prayer, so it is not simply well-intentioned Cath- olics coming together to share their own thoughts, but really a discernment of what the Holy Spirit is asking of and for the local church. As Catholics, we dont discern anything in a vacuum, Hurtubise added. Any authen- tically Catholic discernment is always suffused by prayer, and led by Scripture and tradition.
Relationships, identity top synod topics
See SYNOD, Page 3
JENNY SNARSKI
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF JSNARSKI@CATHOLICDOS.ORG
T
hank you so much for your help in spreading the word about our amazing Catholic priests who are risking their lives to help people. Tanya Zangri, a Ukrainian native who lives in Cable, shared this thought in closing her interview with the Catholic Herald. Zangri is the secretary and bookkeeper for St. Anns Catholic Church. Having first come to North- west Wisconsin as a high school exchange student, Zangri returned to finish her studies in Lublin, Poland, later returning to Cable to marry a student shed met and kept in touch with. While the couple is no longer married, Zangri and her three children, ages 19, 17 and 13, have called Cable home for many years. When this war started, I was completely shocked, Zangri said. I didnt know what to do You feel helpless. You see the people being killed and their homes and churches destroyed. Zangri turned those feelings of helplessness into action. She contacted a childhood friend and convert to Catholicism, Fr. Michael Romaniv, OP, who is a parish priest in Fastiv, south- west of Kyiv, and also runs a ministry called the House of St. Martin de Porres. The ministry is housed in a former Dominican monastery that was ravaged during the Communist rule. The building was given back to the Fastiv Roman Catholic community - a minority in the predominantly Eastern Orthodox country - but was dilapidated and in need of major renovations. Fr. Romaniv was able to fundraise and the House of St. Martin de Porres has served underprivileged children and the marginalized in the community since the military conflict with Russia began in 2014 when the Crimea region was seized. The home has offered physical and mental health services including medical care, a petting zoo, art therapy and psychotherapy. Zangri visited the center in 2019 when visiting her mother in western Ukraine, outside of Lviv, where she and Fr. Romaniv grew up. She commented how Misz- ka, as she calls her friend, worked so hard to help restore churches that had been in disre- pair since the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. As a member of a minority religion, Fr. Romaniv was elated when an average of 40 people attended Masses. He has always made people feel welcome, Zangri said of the priest. It didnt matter their religion or social status. It might be a carry-over from the welcome the priest himself received as a young man who, not even Catholic, felt drawn to religious life after meeting a Do- minican priest through another schoolmate. No one thought he was seri- ous when he mentioned wanting to join the order, Zangri stated. Now 30 years later everyone around him is taking seriously the needs he has taken upon himself to fill. Soon after the Russian inva- sion began in February, Zangri texted Fr. Romaniv, wanting to do something, anything, to help. She was saddened to know how hard her friend had worked to build up his parish and ministry - St. Martin de Porres House also runs their own bakery, cof- fee shop and a pottery studio. The Dominican immediately responded that they needed bandages, tourniquets and
Dominican priest Fr. Michael Romaniv speaks with an elderly Ukrainian woman as he delivers a propane tank, radio, batteries and other vital sup- plies as the war-torn community was left without running water, electricity or gas. This woman was upset that the Russian soldiers ate everything she had, including chickens, and she was very grateful for the priest's help. Fr. Romaniv has received financial help and boxes of medical supplies and other needed items from fellow Ukrainian and childhood friend Tanya Zangri, a resident of Cable and the secretary/bookkeeper for St. Ann's Catholic Church. (Submitted photo)
The small parish with a giant heart
Childhood friendship connects Cable, Ukraine
See UKRAINE, Page 5
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